FOR  PRIVATE 


CIRCULATION. 


Ch e Students 

OF 

China  for  Christ. 


By 

ROBERT  E.  LEWIS. 


THE  STUDENTS 


OF 

CHINA  FOR  CHRIST. 


By 

ROBERT  E.  LEWIS, 
Secretary-Elect  to  China. 


International  Committee 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations, 
New  York, 

1898. 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 

STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS, 
a West  29th  Street,  New  York  City. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/studentsofchinafOOIewi 


Contents. 


I.  Age  and  Extent  of  Cnina. 

II.  Secret  of  the  Long  Life  of  this  Nation. 

III.  Students,  the  Rulers  of  the  Empire. 

IV.  The  New  China  Against  the  Old. 

V.  China  in  Search  of  a Religion. 

VI.  I he  \\  inning  of  China  and  America  Com- 
pared. 

VII.  '['he  Recent  Student  Uprising. 

VIII.  The  Ephesus,  Corinth,  and  Rome  of  China. 

IX.  An  Object  Lesson  at  Tientsin. 


“Oh  mighty  fortress  When  shall  these  impene- 
trable brazen  gates  of  thine  be  broken  through  ? ” 

— Valignani. 


Morrison  was  asked  ( i8oy ), 

“ So  then,  Mr.  Morrison,  you  really  expect  to 
make  an  impression  on  the  idolatry  of  the  great 
Chinese  Empire  ? ’ ’ 

He  replied : 

“No,  sir,  but  I expect  that  God  will." 


£be  Stubents  of  Cbina  for  Cbrist. 


i. 

Ube  Ege  anb  Extent  of  Gbtna. 


It  is  a remarkable  fact  that  China  as  a nation 
should  remain  intact  for  so  many  centuries.  It 
may  set  it  clearly  before  the  mind  to  note  that  the 
Chinese  nation  has  preserved  its  solidarity  from  the 
seventh  century  before  the  Exodus,  the  fifteenth 
century  before  Rome  was  founded,  and  the  twenty- 
second  century  before  Christ.1  There  is  no  paral- 
lel case  of  longevity  in  the  history  of  the  nations  of 
the  world.  China  has  maintained  itself  as  a great 
oriental  people  against  the  assaults  of  enemies  and 
of  time,  while  many  other  nations  have  come  and 
gone. 

Dr.  Martin,  Ex-president  of  the  Imperial  'rung- 
wen  College,  gives  a careful  analysis  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  various  provinces  of  the  Empire  and 
seems  to  draw  the  reliable  conclusion  that  at  least 
399,000,000  people  make  up  the  Chinese  Empire.' 
This  is  practically  one-third  of  the  human  race. 

7 


India  is  the  only  other  country  which  in  any 
way  compares  in  population  to  China,  and  is  itself 
100,000,000  smaller.  1'hat  is,  to  the  population 
of  India  add  the  population  of  North  America, 
from  the  Central  American  states  to  the  Arctic 
Zone,  and  you  have  not  yet  reached  the  popula- 
tion of  China. 

The  territorial  extent  of  the  Chinese  Empire  is 
likewise  impressive.  The  size  of  the  United 
States  is  in  round  figures  3,600,000  square  miles; 
the  extent  of  the  Chinese  Empire  is  5,000,000 
square  miles.  It  is  a striking  fact  that  when  one 
faces  this  greatest  nation  of  the  Orient  he  looks 
upon  an  empire  which  not  only  includes  nearly 
one-third  of  the  population  of  the  world,  but  itself 
covers  one-tenth  of  the  habitable  globe. 

1 Leonard’s  “ Hundred  Years  of  Missions.” 

■ Martin’s  “A  Cycle  of  Cathay.” 

Also,  Lawrence’s  “ Modern  Missions  in  the  East.” 


II. 


TTbe  Secret  of  tbe  Xono  QLtfe  of  tbis 
IRation. 


While  other  nations  have  flashed  into  the  politi- 
cal horizon  of  the  world  and  have  gone  out  again 
in  the  night,  China  has  remained  unchanged. 
Assyria,  Egypt,  Greece  and  Rome  have  passed 
away.  They  have  risen  and  fallen,  while  China 
has  been  undisturbed.  Spain  with  her  once  vast 
domain,  France  and  her  Napoleon,  Britain  the 
queen  of  the  seas,  Russia  as  an  international 
power,  are  but  youths  compared  to  aged  China. 
The  Western  hemisphere  has  been  discovered. 
America  has  passed  into  commanding  eminence. 
China  was  before  all  of  these  and  remains  to-day 
stronger  than  it  was  thirty  centuries  ago.  Dr.  W. 
A.  P.  Martin  says  of  the  student  class  that  it  has 
“done  more  than  anything  else  to  hold  China  to- 
gether.’’ 1 The  solidarity  of  this  great  people  has 
been  preserved  through  the  cycles  largely  by  popu- 
lar and  higher  education,  a fact  scarcely  paralleled 
in  any  of  the  other  great  nations.  Hon.  Chester 
Holcombe,  a representative  of  the  United  States  in 


9 


government  service  at  Peking,  says,  “An  emperor 
of  the  Tang  dynasty,  some  nineteen  hundred  years 
ago,  inaugurated  the  present  plan  of  preparing  and 
selecting  officials  by  means  of  study  and  literary 
examinations.  The  system  has  not  been  essentially 
modified  since.  Like  nearly  all  things  else 
Chinese,  it  appears  to  have  sprung  into  full  form 
at  once  and  to  have  known  neither  growth  nor 
decay.’’  2 

1 “ A Cycle  of  Cathay.” 

2 “The  Real  Chinaman.” 

Also,  Robert  K.  Douglas’  “Confucianism  and  Tau- 
ism.”  Archdeacon  Moule’s  “ New  China  and  Old.” 


io 


III. 


Students,  tbe  IRulers  of  tbe  JEmpire. 


The  fact  that  the  student  class  exercises  such 
a powerful  influence  leads  to  an  examination  of 
education  in  China.  We  first  take  up  the  native 
system  of  education,  which  is  radically  different 
from  Western  education.  A general,  and  what 
might  be  considered  primary,  education,  is  ideally 
recommended  in  all  sections  of  China.  Though 
the  work  done  is  exceedingly  narrow  from  our 
standpoint,  yet  not  so  from  the  Chinese.  “ Schools 
are  found  in  every  city,  village  and  hamlet  in  the 
Empire  and  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  education 
is  universal,  and  it  is  a reproach  to  any  parents, 
however  poor,  if  they  neglect  to  send  their  sons 
to  school.”  1 When  this  has  been  said  it  remains 
to  be  pointed  out  that  “ female  education  is  un- 
known ” in  the  native  Chinese  system.  This  gen- 
eral sentiment  in  favor  of,  and  more  or  less  partic- 
ipation in,  preliminary  education  prepares  the  way 
for  the  Chinese  competitive  examination  system, 
which  Mr.  Mott  calls  “The  Gibraltar  of  the  Stu- 
dent World.” 


1 1 


This  system  of  higher  education  in  China  is 
open  to  all  competitors,  high  or  low,  poor  or 
rich,  but  results  in  the  development  of  an  aristoc- 
racy of  neither  blood  nor  wealth  but  of  learning. 
These  are  the  literati.  Mr.  Mott,  the  General 
Secretary  of  the  World’s  Student  Christian  Federa- 
tion, has  made  a most  careful  examination  of  the 
student  status  of  China  and  concludes  that  in 
this  Chinese  student  system  500,000  students 
present  themselves  annually  for  the  first  degree, 
which  can  only  be  competed  for  after  preliminary 
examinations  have  been  passed  in  the  various  dis- 
tricts of  the  provinces;  that  150,000  men  present 
themselves  for  examination  twice  every  three  years 
for  the  second  degree;  and  that  for  the  third  or 
highest  degree  at  least  x 0,000  students  compete 
once  in  three  years."  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
student  body  of  China  is  the  greatest  of  any  coun- 
try of  the  world,  and  adding  to  this,  other  striking 
characteristics,  we  are  more  easily  able  to  under- 
stand the  perpetuity  of  the  Kmpire. 

While  the  spoken  language  of  the  literati  is  more 
or  less  uniform,  the  written  language  is  uniform 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  country. 
T his  makes  possible  the  wide  circulation  of  Chris- 
tian literature  and  of  the  Word  of  God.  The 
actual  reverence  for  the  printed  page  in  all  sec- 
tions of  China,  a feeling  of  which  the  Anglo-Saxon 
knows  nothing,  promotes  practical  approach  to 
educated  Chinese.  Instead  of  throwing  books 
awav  thev  cordially  receive  them.  At  an  examin- 


ing  centre  a personal  friend  of  the  writer  not  only 
saw  his  large  stock  of  Christian  literature  melt 
down  under  the  demand  of  the  students,  but  as 
they  rode  away  he  was  glad  to  see  them  closely 
perusing  the  pages. 

In  “A  Cycle  of  Cathay”  Dr.  Martin  observes 
“ The  civil  sendee  examinations,  which  are  gaining 
ground  in  England,  France  and  the  United  States, 
are  borrowed  from  the  experience  of  the  Chinese 
Empire.”  This  Eastern  system  of  education  by 
examination  has  developed  many  extraordinary 
features.  Take  for  example  the  great  examination 
halls,  which  are  said  to  be  most  striking  features 
of  the  capital  cities.  At  toochow  and  Canton  the 
examination  halls  accommodate  at  one  time  about 
ten  thousand  students  each  ; another  at  Nanking  is 
so  arranged  as  to  receive  thirty  thousand  students 
for  examination  at  once,  lhese  examination  build- 
ings are  most  carefully  policed.  Each  student  is 
sent  alone  into  a small  booth,  having  been  previous- 
ly searched  from  head  to  foot,  and  stays  by  himself 
under  watch  of  the  police  until  his  theses  are  com- 
pleted and  handed  over  to  the  authorities.  The 
largest  universities  of  America  draw  together  be- 
tween three  and  four  thousand  men  for  study : an 
average  second  degree  examination  center  m 
China  will  draw  together  twenty  thousand  students 
for  examination  purposes,  they  having  studied  by 
themselves  under  private  instruction.  To  be  sure, 
the  breadth  of  education  in  the  two  countries  is 
not  to  be  compared ; the  results  in  real  scholarship 


13 


are  in  no  degree  of  the  same  order.  Yet  one  can- 
not fail  to  admire  the  literary  accomplishments  of 
the  Chinese.  Nor  can  he  fail  to  recognize  that  the 
literati  in  such  a nation  are  the  actual  power  behind 
the  throne.  Holcombe  cites  a representative  in- 
stance which  shows  how  highly  the  winning  of  de- 
grees is  esteemed  in  China.  The  father  of  a stu- 
dent who  had  been  successful  in  the  examinations 
at  the  capital  placarded  the  streets  of  his  native 
town  with  the  following  poster:  “Good  News! 
Mr.  Wang  has  the  happiness  to  announce  that  his 
son,  Ah  Sin,  by  the  grace  of  His  Imperial  Maj- 
esty, has  been  named  No.  169  in  the  list  of  suc- 
cessful candidates  for  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts 
at  the  recent  provincial  examinations.  Rejoice ! 
Rejoice ! ’ ’ 

Among  the  results  of  the  competitive  civil  serv- 
ice examinations  of  China  are  the  following : 
First : A literary  caste  is  developed,  with  happily 
no  similarity  to  the  Brahman  caste  in  India,  which 
holds  practically  all  the  offices  of  the  Empire  and 
which  is  therefore  the  ruling  force  in  the  affairs  of 
China,  shaping  the  laws  and  administering  the 
government.  They  have  the  power  to  levy  taxes, 
and  they  are  the  guardians  of  letters  and  religion. 
Second : Not  only  are  they  the  practical  rulers  of 
the  Empire,  but  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  West- 
ern civilization  or  progress,  commercial  and  edu- 
cational, they  are  the  most  absolutely  conservative. 
Third : Not  only  are  they  the  rulers  and  the  con- 
servatives of  China  but  the  student  class  has  also 


14 


been  Christianity’s  strongest  opponent.  Besides 
blocking  the  wheels  of  what  all  Western  nations 
consider  progress,  they  as  a class  stand  athwart  the 
pathway  of  Christianity  with  sullen  defiance,  and 
more,  “ the  instigators  of  mobs  are  generally  man- 
darins or  members  of  the  student  class.” 

' Holcombe’s  “ The  Real  Chinaman.” 

2 Mott’s  ‘‘Strategic  Points  in  the  World’s  Con- 
quest.” 


1 5 


IV. 

IT  be  IRew  China  Hiiain:?t  tbe  Olb. 


Since  the  treaties  have  gradually  opened  up 
China  to  the  merchant  and  the  missionary,  a sur- 
prising change,  for  so  conservative  a country,  has 
been  noted  among  the  leading  Chinese.  The 
arrogant  assumption  of  Chinese  pre-eminence  is 
gradually  giving  way  to  the  desire  to  profit  by  West- 
ern civilization.  There  can  be  observed  a grow- 
ing interest  in  science  among  the  literati  and 
officials ; and  science  underlies  all  our  modem  edu- 
cation. The  Chinese  have  been  from  time  im- 
memorial the  masters  of  letters,  but  of  real  science 
they  have  known  nothing.  Applied  mathematics, 
biology,  chemistry,  physics,  a pure  astronomy,  en- 
gineering in  its  various  forms,  scientific  medicine, 
the  principles  of  international  law,  psycholog}', 
philosophy,  these  sciences  are  now  beginning  to  ap- 
peal by  their  own  worth  to  China.  Prince  Kung, 
of  the  imperial  family,  addressed  an  official  letter 
to  the  throne,  of  which  the  following  is  part: 
“The  machinery  of  the  West,  its  steamers,  its 
fire-arms  and  its  military  tactics,  all  have  their 


10 


source  in  mathematical  science.  Now  at  Shanghai 
and  elsewhere  the  building  of  steamers  has  been 
commenced ; but  we  fear  that  if  we  are  content 
with  the  superficial  knowledge,  and  do  not  go  to 
the  root  of  the  matter,  such  efforts  will  not  issue 
in  solid  success. 

“Your  Majesty’s  servants  have  accordingly  to 
propose,  after  mature  deliberation,  that  an  addi- 
tional department  shall  be  established,  into  which 
no  one  shall  be  admitted  but  those  who  are  over 
twenty  years  of  age,  having  previously  gained  a de- 
gree in  Chinese  learning.  For  we  are  convinced 
that  if  we  are  able  to  master  the  mysteries  of 
mathematical  calculation,  physical  investigation, 
astronomical  observation,  the  construction  of  en- 
gines, the  engineering  of  water  courses,  this  and 
only  this  will  assure  the  steady  growth  of  the 
power  of  the  Empire." 

We  are  not  surprised  therefore  to  know  that  the 
government  has  already  established  and  supports  a 
few  colleges  and  universities  teaching  the  Western 
education.  We  are  not  surprised  to  note  that  in 
the  established  system  of  examinations  the  gov- 
ernment has  been  pressed  to  introduce  examination 
papers  in  modern  science. 

China  is  arousing  himself.  The  Empire  is  a 
great  giant  drugged  in  his  sleep,  but  when  he 
breathes  deep  breaths  of  modern  civilization  he 
will  throw  off  his  lethargic  slumbers;  those  who 
would  keep  him  asleep  will  fail;  he  is  eager  al- 
ready for  the  new  education  and  will  not  be  satis- 


17 


Tied.  The  question  arises,  Shall  he  presently  take 
the  methods  of  our  merchantmen  and  the  resources 
of  our  science,  and  divorce  them  from  Chris- 
tianity? 1 This  is  now  the  greatest  question  in  re- 
gard to  China. 

’Dennis’  “Christian  Missions  and  Social  Prog- 
ress.” 

Also,  Archdeacon  Moule’s  “ New  China  and  Old.” 


China  in  Search  ot  a IReligion. 


The  Emperor  Ming-Ti,  in  the  year  65  A.  D., 
sent  a deputation  to  India  to  find  a new  and  better 
religion  than  those  which  prevailed  in  China. 
Thus  the  titular  head  of  Confucianism  acknowl- 
edged the  insufficiency  of  the  native  religions  of 
China.  This  deputation  to  India  brought  back 
Buddhism  and  planted  it  as  a religion  in  the  Em- 
pire, and  it  has  lived  side  by  side  with  Confucianism 
and  Tauism.1  Mohammedanism  has  also  its  mill- 
ions of  followers  in  the  western  part  of  the  Em- 
pire. These  religious  systems  are  not  satisfactory, 
and  though  in  these  days  no  emperor  has  sent  to 
Britain  or  to  America  to  ask  that  Christianity  take 
the  place  of  the  religions  in  China,  yet  it  is  not 
hard  to  find  evidence  of  the  insufficiency  of  these 
old  religions. 

China  is  bound  to  have  the  new  education  and 
with  it  Western  civilization.  Shall  it  be  a Godless 
education  and  a Godless  civilization?  To  this  the 
tireless  force  of  missionaries  answers  “ No.”  Rev. 
Gilbert  Reid,  of  the  Mission  among  the  Higher 


Classes,  Peking,  says,  “If  the  experience  of  India 
and  Japan  is  a safe  criterion,  there  will  be  an  inev- 
itable tendency  to  take  the  material  and  intellect- 
ual features  of  another  civilization,  but  not  the 
spiritual.  There  is  even  a danger  that  the  new 
civilization  will  have  less  moral  character  than  the 
old,  that  wealth  rather  than  righteousness  will  be- 
come the  ambition  of  young  China,  and  that  Cod 
will  be  even  less  honored  in  the  teachings  from 
Christendom  than  in  the  teachings  of  Confucian- 
ism. To  direct  in  right  channels  the  current  of 
progress  it  is  necessary  to  watch  the  beginnings, 
and  to  win  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ  these 
young  students  who  are  just  beginning  to  admire 
the  new  ideas  of  other  lands.  The  contest  with 
them  is  now  on,  and  cannot  be  postponed.’’  2 
The  real  worth  of  the  two  great  Chinese  relig- 
ions can  be  judged  from  these  impartial  state- 
ments made  by  Dr.  Martin,  for  twenty-five  years 
a leader  in  the  government  educational  system. 
“ In  contrast,  however,  with  our  Holy  Scriptures, 
the  religious  element  in  them  (the  books  of  Con- 
fucius) is  so  faint  and  feeble  as  to  suggest  the 
aurora  boreaiis  rather  than  the  life  - giving  sun- 
shine.’’ 3 In  regard  to  Buddhism  he  is  still  more 
emphatic,  “ No  longer  doing  anything  to  strength- 
en or  renovate  Chinese  society,  Buddhism  clings 
to  it  as  an  ivv  clings  to  a crumbling  tower,  de- 
riving its  nourishment  from  the  rottenness  of  the 
structure.’’  Rev.  Arthur  H.  Smith  says,  “Of 
China  it  might  be  said,  as  Gibbon  remarked  of 


20 


Rome,  that  to  the  common  people  all  religions  are 
equally  true,  to  the  philosopher  all  are  equally 
false,  and  to  the  magistrate  all  are  equally  useful. 
Of  the  Emperor  of  China,  as  of  the  Roman  Em- 
peror, it  might  be  affirmed  that  he  is  ‘ at  once  a 
high  priest,  an  atheist  and  a god  ’ ! To  such  a 
state  has  Confucianism  brought  the  Empire.”  ' 
After  the  China-Japan  war,  certain  Chinese 
governmental  leaders  were  convinced  that  the 
Empire  must  change  front ; it  had  been  facing  to- 
ward the  past.  Not  wishing  to  confide  in  the  am- 
bassadors of  any  of  the  nations,  under  the  circum- 
stances, it  is  a fact  that  they  sought  counsel  from 
Christian  missionaries.  After  frequent  interviews, 
high  government  officials  requested  the  mission- 
ary leaders  who  were  in  their  confidence  to  put 
in  writing  their  suggestions  for  the  reform  of 
China,  and  this  was  done.  One  immediate  result 
was  a special  order  to  the  provinces  making  it 
emphatic  that  missionaries  are  to  be  not  only  tol- 
erated but  protected.  Rev.  Timothy  Richard, 
one  of  the  leaders  in  this  movement,  who  has 
been  for  twenty-seven  years  in  China,  says, 
“ When  I think  of  the  importance  of  this  move- 
ment I feel  appalled  by  its  magnitude.  The  lead- 
ers of  four  hundred  millions  of  people  turning  to 
the  Christian  Church  for  light  and  leading!  Take 
time  to  realize  what  that  means.  And  now  that 
they  come  to  you,  I hope  that  you  will  not  allow 
them  to  go  astray  for  lack  of  a sympathizing  hand 
to  lead  them  in  the  way  of  righteousness.”  5 


Who  shall  the  new  God  of  China  be?  The  Em- 
pire is  coming  to  seek  emancipation  from  an  effete 
system.  Shall  it  be  led  by  materialistic  education 
into  a fearful  liberty,  or  by  a scholarship  which 
knows  God  into  the  fulness  of  His  plan  for  it 
among  the  peoples  of  the  world?  How  shall  the 
one  be  averted  and  the  other  accomplished? 

'Williams’  “ Middle  Kingdom.” 

2 In  “The  Evangelization  of  China.” 

8 “ A Cycle  of  Cathay.” 

4 “ Chinese  Characteristics.” 

5 Briwn's  “ The  Awakening  of  China.” 

Also,  Ernest  Faber’s  “ Systematical  Digest  of  the 
Doctrines  of  Confucius.” 


VI. 


Ube  '©dinning  of  China  anb  Hmerica 
Compareb. 


Reasoning  from  analog}’  does  not  always  satisfy 
the  rules  of  logic  and  so  we  will  not  press  the  com- 
parison too  far.  There  are  striking  similarities, 
however,  in  the  way  the  forces  of  God  were  mar- 
shalled for  the  conquest  of  America  and  now  later 
of  China. 

China  has  a coast  line  of  hundreds  of  miles, 
washed  by  a great  ocean,  and  out  from  this  coast 
line  the  people  look  towards  the  rising  sun. 
America  has  an  eastern  coast  line  of  hundreds  of 
miles  washed  by  another  great  sea,  whose  people 
look  towards  the  morning.  The  Christian  strate- 
gist in  the  colonial  time  in  America  was  a univers- 
ity-bred man,  and  on  landing  on  the  new  con- 
tinent established  higher  education  in  the  fear  of 
God.  T here  have  landed  within  the  past  hundred 
years  many  university-bred  men  and  women  upon 
the  eastern  coast  line  of  China,  who  have  there 
passed  on  the  blessing  they  received  in  earlier 
years,  and  have  established  seats  of  learning  in 

23 


which  Cod  is  honored.  What  would  have  been 
the  tendency  of  the  early  Republic  had  not  the 
Episcopalians  been  present  to  plant  Columbia 
University  and  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  ; the 
Baptists  to  establish  Brown  University;  the  Pres- 
byterians, Princeton  ; the  Congregationalists,  Har- 
vard, Yale,  Williams,  and  the  other  Christian 
bodies  their  great  seats  of  learning?  In  the 
colonial  period  of  America’s  development  Christian- 
ity and  scholarship  were  forever  wedded.  This 
was  Christian  statesmanship  of  the  highest  order. 

Up  and  down  the  eastern  coast  line  of  China,  like 
that  line  of  universities  in  America,  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  ( Georgia  at  the  South  to  the  University 
of  Vermont  at  the  North,  there  has  been  estab- 
lished a chain  of  colleges,  from  the  Presbyterian 
College  of  Canton  in  the  South  to  the  Methodist 
University  of  Peking.  No  one  can  estimate  how 
new  China  will  be  influenced  by  such  institutions 
as  the  Anglo-Chinese  College  of  Foochow,  the 
Anglo-Chinese  College  of  Shanghai,  the  Presbyter- 
ian College  of  Teng-chow,  the  Congregational 
College  of  Tung-cho,  the  Methodist  Universities  at 
Nanking  and  Peking,  St.  John’s  College  at  Shang- 
hai, the  strong  institutions  at  Tientsin,  Ningpo, 
Amoy,  Hangchow,  and  many  others. 

After  the  coast  line  of  colleges  in  America  had 
been  planted  higher  education  worked  its  way 
inland,  and  so  with  the  colleges  in  China. 

In  America,  after  the  colonial  institutions  had 
been  established,  the  government  took  upon  itself 


24 


the  planting  of  the  great  state  universities,  in  which,, 
of  course,  religion  could  play  but  a small  part.  In 
this  crisis  the  voluntary  organizations  of  students 
came  into  being,  which  more  effectively  than  any 
other  force  has  held  the  students  in  the  faith  and 
enlisted  them  in  the  direct  sendee  of  Christ.  In 
China  the  provincial  governments  have  begun  to 
plant  state  institutions  on  the  basis  of  Western 
learning.  More  and  more  of  these  will  be  en- 
dowed. Christianity  will  not  be  an  integral  part 
of  these  institutions  as  of  the  Christian  colleges. 
How  shall  the  student  body  of  not  only  the  govern- 
ment examination  system,  but  of  these  new,  and 
prospective,  universities  be  led  to  Christ?  This  is 
no  small  problem,  and  to  the  question  is  there  a 
direct  and  positive  answer?  Having  been  won  to 
Christ,  how  shall  they,  and  the  students  of  Chris- 
tian colleges,  be  enlisted  in  the  Christianization  of 
their  native  land?  They  will,  if  properly  enlisted 
for  the  campaign,  be  the  generals  of  the  Christian, 
army  of  new  China. 


VII. 

Xlbe  IRecent  Stubent  inprismg. 


The  problem  'has  been  stated.  The  facts  are 
before  us.  The  necessity  for  action  is  apparent, 
and  already  we  trace  the  unfolding  of  the  plan  of 
God.  He  has  certain  men  under  His  command. 
As  He  said  to  Joshua  so  He  has  said  to  them, 
“ Have  I not  commanded  thee?  Be  thou  strong  and 
of  good  courage.  Be  not  afraid  neither  be  thou  dis- 
mayed for  the  Lord  thy  God  is  with  thee  whither- 
soever thou  goest.  This  book  of  the  law  shall  not 
depart  out  of  thy  mouth ; for  thou  shalt  meditate 
therein  day  and  night,  that  thou  mayest  observe  to 
do  according  to  all  that  is  written  therein;  for  then 
thou  shalt  make  thy  way  prosperous,  and  then 
thou  shalt  have  good  success.” 

A score  of  years  ago  the  problem  of  winning  the 
students  of  Britain  and  America  to  Christ  was 
most  difficult.  No  satisfactory  solution  of  the 
problem  was  forthcoming.  God  called  into  being 
the  College  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association, 
which  has  been  able  to  bind  together  in  the  United 


26 


States  and  Canada,  for  aggressive  Christian  work, 
students  in  five  hundred  institutions  of  higher 
learning,  and  similar  movements  are  at  work  in 
Britain,  and  in  the  great  Continental  universities. 
As  President  Hitchcock  pointed  out,  to  this  or- 
ganization has  been  given  the  direction  on  interde- 
nominational lines  of  the  religious  life  of  the  uni- 
versities of  these  lands.  In  America  and  Canada 
alone  between  30,000  and  40,000  professors  and 
students  are  engaged  in  this  work.  Mr.  Mott 
observes  that,  “ More  than  30,000  students  have 
been  led  through  the  work  of  the  Associations  to 
become  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Moreover,  nearly  5,000  young  men,  representing 
some  forty  different  branches  of  the  Church,  have 
been  influenced  to  become  clergymen,  and  even  a 
larger  number  of  students  have  been  led  to  dedi- 
cate their  lives  to  foreign  missions  through  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement.”1 
It  was  to  represent  such  an  actual  spiritual  force 
among  the  college  men  of  North  America  that  Mr. 
Luther  D.  Wishard  spent  over  three  years  in  the 
Orient  on  a remarkable  tour  of  investigation  of  the 
student  status  of  Asia.  Following  this  tour  the 
Chinese  missionaries,  representing  many  denomina- 
tions, united  in  petitioning  that  secretaries  of  the 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  be  sent  to 
devote  their  lives  to  the  work  among  the  young 
men  of  China.  After  great  pressure  had  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  International  Committee 
of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Associations  in  New 


27 


York,  on  the  part  of  leaders  in  the  missionary 
•enterprise,  the  work  in  the  Orient  was  undertaken, 
and  finally  in  1895,  Mr.  I).  Willard  I.yon,  Educa- 
tional Secretary  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Move- 
ment, was  sent  to  China  and  established  headquar- 
ters at  Tientsin.  The  results  of  his  work  from  the 
beginning  were  so  unusual  as  to  attract  general 
attention.  The  leaders  of  the  missionary  enterprise 
in  China  recognized  the  position  which  this  work 
for  Chinese  students  held,  so  that  when  Mr.  John 
R.  Mott  landed  in  the  fall  of  1896  in  the  Empire, 
•careful  preparatory  plans  had  been  made,  and 
under  the  blessing  of  Ood  a large  Christian  upris- 
ing of  the  students  in  China  was  witnessed.  He 
treats  in  attractive  detail  of  this  matter  in  his 
book  “ The  Strategic  Points  in  the  World’s  Con- 
quest.” Suffice  it  to  say  that  large  Christian 
conventions  were  held  in  Chefoo,  Peking,  Shang- 
hai and  Foochow,  calling  together  2,883  dele- 
gates, 2,352  of  whom  were  Chinese  students, 
professors  and  native  Christians,  and  41 1 of 
whom  were  missionaries  of  thirty-seven  missionary 
societies.  Within  the  year  1896-7,  about  100 
educated  Chinese  have  offered  themselves  for  ag- 
gressive Christian  work.  After  these  spiritual  con- 
ventions were  over,  leaders  in  the  missionary  enter- 
prise in  China,  including  seventeen  college  presi- 
dents, met  for  a special  conference  in  Shanghai, 
Nov.  3-5,  1896.  The  organization  of  the  College 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  of  China  was 
here  perfected  and  placed  under  the  direction  of 


28 


a national  committee  of  fourteen  experienced  lead- 
ers— seven  Chinese  and  seven  foreign. 

Mr.  Mott  writes,  “An  association  is  now  planted 
in  every  important  institution  in  the  Empire. 
They  exist  not  only,  in  Christian  colleges  but  in  all 
government  institutions  in  which  there  is  a suffi- 
cient number  of  Christian  students  to  sustain  an 
organization.  . . . 1'he  leaders  of  the  new 

China  are  to-day  being  trained  in  those  institutions 
which  give  the  modern  education.  What  shall 
that  leadership  be?  . . . When  we  recall  the 

awful  spiritual  crisis  of  China,  involving  the  destiny 
of  one-third  the  human  race,  can  we  question 
that  the  student  volunteer  idea  has  been  divinely 
planted  in  the  Chinese  student  field?  ’ ’ 1 All  who  are 
interested  in  the  great  struggle  of  China  are  rejoic- 
ing to  note  that  the  strength  of  this  Christian  move- 
ment among  the  student  class  is  not  in  numbers, 
though  they  be  gratifying,  but  in  a complete  sub- 
mission to  the  Holy  Spirit  and  to  the  overmastering 
desire  to  learn  and  do  the  will  of  Cod.  The 
Chinese  student  movement  is  characterized  by  the 
prayer  spirit,  and  it  has  just  begun  to  enter  into 
the  fulness  of  its  opportunity  in  the  Empire.  Mr. 
Lyon  has  been  called  by  the  National  Committee 
as  Travelling  Secretary,  pamphlets  and  literature 
sufficient  to  meet  the  necessary  requirements  are  in 
circulation,  and  the  national  work  takes  on  not  only 
a permanent  but  an  aggressive  form. 

1'he  writer  is  under  appointment  of  the  American 
International  Committee  and  hopes  shortly  to  begin 


29 


work  in  Central  China,  with  headquarters  in  Shang- 
hai. Robert  R.  Gailey,  a Princeton  man,  and  a 
travelling  secretary  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Move- 
ment, will  sail  at  the  same  time  under  the  same 
auspices  to  take  up  student  work  in  China,  at  some 
other  leading  center.  At  the  recent  meeting  of 
the  World’s  Student  Christian  Federation  in 
America  one  of  the  most  striking  figures  was  Mr. 
Ding  Ming  Uong,  of  Foochow,  a member  of  the 
National  Committee  of  China.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  to  represent  the  College  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Associations  of  China  at  the  Federation 
gathering,  and  won  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
the  student  leaders  of  the  other  nations. 

’Mott’s  “Strategic  Points  in  the  World’s  Con- 
quest.’’ 


30 


VIII. 


Ube  Epbesus,  Corintb  aub  iRome  of 
Cbtna. 


Christ  commended  the  missionary  enterprise  to 
the  scholar  whose  heart  He  had  touched.  Paul’s 
scholarship  did  not  of  itself  equip  him  to  found 
the  great  foreign  missionary  enterprise.  His  spirit- 
uality was  of  more  significance,  but  when  this 
abundant  spirituality  was  seconded  by  striking  in- 
tellectual power  he  could  not  be  withstood,  and 
though  there  were  overwhelming  obstacles,  his 
cause  triumphed.  Paul  established  and  fortified 
his  cause  in  the  great  intellectual  and  commercial 
and  religious  centers,  Ephesus,  Antioch,  Corinth, 
Athens  and  Rome.  He  did  not  neglect  other  op- 
portunities, but  he  entrenched  himself  in  the  cen- 
ters. We  need  not  enter  into  a discussion  of  his 
reasons  for  this  masterful  policy.  Should  not  we 
who  would  win  to  God  the  Empire  of  China  do 
well  to  consider  the  Pauline  plan.  Shanghai,  Foo- 
chow, Tientsin  and  Peking  may  be  considered  the 
Ephesus,  Corinth,  Athens  and  Rome  of  China, 
and  in  them  and  the  other  great  centers,  like  Can- 
ton, Wuchang  and  Amoy,  the  special  work  for  edu- 
cated Chinamen  must  be  centered.  In  these  great 
vortices  of  irreligion  and  false  religion  the  Cross 

31 

LIBRARY  OF  THE 

STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS, 

& West  29th  Street,  New  York  City. 


must  be  held  high,  for  it  will  ultimately  draw  all 
men  to  itself  and  its  Christ. 

Rev.  Gilbert  Reid  is  quoted  as  saying:  “The 
early  church,  both  among  the  Latin  and  Greek 
Fathers,  had  Apologists  in  every  way  the  equal  in 
logical  acumen  and  literary  finish  to  the  men  ar- 
rayed against  them.  This  is  the  need  to-day  in 
the  church  of  China.  Herein  there  is  a strategic 
importance.’’  1 

A nation  which  has  for  one  of  its  maxims,  “ Study 
is  the  highest  pursuit  a man  can  follow,’’  is  worth 
winning  to  God,  and  in  this  Christian  warfare  steel 
must  be  met  with  steel.  Although  this  is  so,  the 
greatest  catastrophe  that  could  overtake  the  effort 
to  Christianize  the  student  class  would  come  from 
the  pride  of  learning,  and  we  are  thankful  to  know 
that  no  man  who  has  been  called  to  this  service 
dares  for  a moment  to  trust  in  the  arm  of  flesh. 
“Be  not  high-minded  but  fear,’’  was  Paul’s 
trenchant  instruction,  and  he  added — “ lest  ye  be 
wise  in  your  own  conceits.”  God  forbid  that  any 
one  who  supports  by  prayer  or  means,  or  who 
personally  engages  in,  this  work  should  put  his 
trust  in  the  lower  things.  John  asks  the  question, 
“ Who  is  he  that  overcometh  the  world,  but  he 
that  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God?” 
And  Paul  replies,  “ Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are 
more  than  conquerors  through  him  that  loved  us.” 
And  we  are  assured,  “ For  as  many  as  are  led  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  they  are  the  Sons  of  God.” 

1 In  “ The  Evangelization  of  China.” 


IX. 


Bn  Object  Xesson  at  ^Tientsin. 


We  have  already  mentioned  the  Christian  awak- 
ening of  students,  resulting  in  the  conferences  of 
1896  and  the  formation  of  the  National  Committee 
of  the  College  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association 
of  China.  But  what  is  meant  by  manning  the  in- 
dividual student  centers  can  best  be  told  by  a 
typical  instance.  Mr.  Lyon  landed  in  China  in  the 
fall  of  1895  and  taking  Tientsin  as  his  immediate 
field  began  his  work  among  the  students.  Tient- 
sin, beside  being  a city  of  1,000,000  inhabitants, 
the  port  of  Peking,  and  the  residence  of  Li  Hung 
Chang,  is  one  of  the  centers  of  Western  education. 

Before  he  had  been  in  Tientsin  six  months  an 
intercollegiate  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association 
had  been  formed  of  Chinese;  headquarters  had 
been  established  ; regular  devotional  meetings  were 
held  at  the  headquarters,  and  also  in  college  build- 
ings ; a devotional  Bible  class  of  twenty  to  thirty 
was  meeting  regularly;  ten  students  had  publicly 
confessed  Christ. 

He  began  the  work  there  late  in  1895,  and  in 


33 


the  spring  of  1897  the  Christian  work  among 
students  had  enlarged  so  as  to  require  a special 
building.  Through  the  liberality  of  an  American 
woman  a commodious  Association  building  was 
erected  to  be  the  center  of  the  aggressive  Chris- 
tian work  among  the  educated  Chinese  of  Tientsin. 
There  will  be  courses  of  lectures  and  addresses 
clearly  setting  before  the  aroused  Chinese  mind 
phases  of  Western  civilization  : there  will  be  social 
and  educational  events  in  this  building;  but  all 
things  will  converge  on  the  two  great  objects, 
first,  leading  students  to  Christ,  and,  second,  set- 
ting them  to  work  for  Him  among  their  country- 
men. 

To  show  exactly  how  this  aggressive  work  in  the 
great  student  centers  is  considered  in  China  we 
quote  from  the  Peking  and  Tientsin  Times  (a  sec- 
ular periodical)  the  following,  on  the  dedication 
of  the  students’  Association  building  in  Tientsin  : 

“ If  the  China  of  the  future  is  not  vastly  and 
immeasurably  removed  in  an  exalted  sense  from 
the  China  of  yesterday  and  to-dav,  it  will  assuredly 
not  be  due  to  any  lack  of  ennobling  influences  and 
endeavors  on  the  part  of  her  numerous  well-wishers 
of  all  nationalities.  . . . Tientsin,  although 

so  near  the  capital,  the  hot-bed  of  all  that  is  most 
rigidly  conservative,  has  been  the  starting  point  of 
many  educational  movements,  and  now  has  the 
honor  of  possessing  the  first  Young  Men’s  Chris- 
tian Association  established  in  China. 

The  fine  building  formally  opened  on  Saturday 


34 


comprises  a large  lecture  hall  containing  a fine 
piano,  a reading  room  with  a good  assortment  of 
English  books  and  newspapers,  and  a recreation 
room  with  a large  and  comprehensive  stock  of 
games.  . . . Nothing  would  probably  have 

given  Mrs.  Taylor  greater  pleasure  than  the  ad- 
dresses of  two  Chinese  students,  extracts  from  one 
of  which  we  append  below.  It  was  a most  en- 
couraging sign,  especially  to  those  outside  the 
sphere  of  missionary  labor  and  who  only  see  the 
worst  side  of  China,  to  hear  these  young  men 
speaking  with  a quiet  confidence  and  loftiness  of 
sentiment  which  would  have  done  credit  to  any 
European  or  American  students  of  the  same  age 
and  experience.  It  was  distinctly  encouraging, 
too,  to  see  such  a large  number  of  young  men 
present,  and  we  were  particularly  struck  with  the 
genuine  welcome  extended  in  word  and  smile  by 
the  Christian  members  to  each  new-comer.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  at  the  next  great  interna- 
tional gathering  of  Young  Men’s  Christian  Asso- 
ciation representatives,  held  either  in  London  or 
America,  China  will  not  be,  as  Mr.  Pyke  remarked 
in  the  course  of  his  address,  the  only  race  con- 
spicuous for  its  absence.” 


35 


